Golden State Warriors

[DMX7]

The Spurs play them 3 times after mid-March and not at all this calendar year. Is the NBA trying to protect them from us? :lol

[peacemaker885]

Could be the other way around.

[DMX7]

Could be the other way around.

Could be... but we owned them pretty badly in the final matchup last year.

[apalisoc_9]

Kawhi win dpoy last year because they played gsw late :lol
Could be the same for mvp :lol

[TrainOfThought5]

Kawhi win dpoy last year because they played gsw late :lol
Could be the same for mvp :lol

Hmmm.... if Kawhi shut down and embarassed Curry, while putting up 30+, i could see it.

[hooperflash]

:spam: , tbh

[DJR210]

Can't wait to see the Curry/Kawhi matchup.

[bic50]

Could be... but we owned them pretty badly in the final matchup last year.
I think it for the best, spurs aren't playing all that great right now. Atleast not at the level they are capable of. Maybe by the time they face GS they are playing up their potential.

[Russ]

The League likes to backload the schedule with good matchups.

[DarrinS]

Warriors are legit, tbh

[daslicer]

I prefer it this way it gives the spurs more time to build up their chemistry with LMA before they play the Warriors.

[Uriel]

I prefer it this way it gives the spurs more time to build up their chemistry with LMA before they play the Warriors.

[weeks]

i think it was a conscious effort by the league to give us time to gel before we faced them
they want a good antagonist for them to face, to make it interesting and challenging
if we can work em good it'll just hype a posteason matchup that much more

[LarryDavid]

i think it was a conscious effort by the league to give us time to gel before we faced them
they want a good antagonist for them to face, to make it interesting and challenging

Makes sense... Probably has nothing to do with logistics, travel, arena schedules, etc.

[GSH]

Makes sense... Probably has nothing to do with logistics, travel, arena schedules, etc.

:lol

[weeks]

Makes sense... Probably has nothing to do with logistics, travel, arena schedules, etc.
c'mon man you think it was a coincidence we got DeAndre's visit to Dallas the same night as LMA's return to portland
everyone knew our team was gonna need some time to click, wouldn't surprise me if they decided to give us some...GSW looks unstoppable right now

[LarryDavid]

c'mon man you think it was a coincidence we got the DeAndre's visit to Dallas the same night as LMA's return to portland
everyone knew our team was gonna need some time to click, wouldn't surprise me if they decided to give us some

Then why schedule OKC as the first game?

[weeks]

Then why schedule OKC as the first game?
yeah i feel you, i dunno tho. i think OKC has kinda fallen off the mainstream radar, still a classic matchup for opening night

[Uriel]

The Warriors are the best team in basketball right now. Can't see how Spurs fans can just outright dismiss them as a threat. :lol

[100%duncan]

Everyone acknowledges that no shit. Doesnt erase the facts that our strengths are their weaknesses.

Cocksucking GS :lol

[silverblackfan]

That was a pretty good come back against the Clippers. I don't know which team gets the credit for that. GS is looks very comfortable and dominant.
It was still a good game up until the clips fell apart...

[FkLA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStaqzqPKUI

IDGAF what they've done to other teams. Kawhi and co. waxed their ass last time they played the Spurs.

[SAGirl]

The Warriors are the best team in basketball right now. Can't see how Spurs fans can just outright dismiss them as a threat. :lol


That was a pretty good come back against the Clippers. I don't know which team gets the credit for that. GS is looks very comfortable and dominant.
It was still a good game up until the clips fell apart...
GSW look legit. Only SOME fans dismiss them and I am sure the team itself is not as nonchalant with any opponent, be they the warriors or not. That would be a recipe for disaster.

Clippers have a history of choking late. You could not even count on them to hold up a lead at home wow!

[silverblackfan]

You must admit that the Spurs vs Clippers first game in 2016 has some marketing appeal now and is getting better.

[SpursFan86]

Funny how Spurs fans are usually the ones saying "lol regular season", i.e. Rockets sweeping us in the regular season the other year and Spurs fans writing it off as a non-issue in a playoff series...and now, a lot of these same people are saying "Look, we've done well against the Warriors in the regular season! They wouldn't do shit against us in the playoffs!"

I mean if you want to argue we match up well with them, that's fine (and for the record, I do think we match up well with them), but don't point to a 3-game sample size in the regular season as some sort of concrete evidence :lol Especially considering they beat us pretty badly in one of those games too - it's not like we destroyed them in every matchup.

[100%duncan]

Funny how Spurs fans are usually the ones saying "lol regular season", i.e. Rockets sweeping us in the regular season the other year and Spurs fans writing it off as a non-issue in a playoff series...and now, a lot of these same people are saying "Look, we've done well against the Warriors in the regular season! They wouldn't do shit against us in the playoffs!"

I mean if you want to argue we match up well with them, that's fine (and for the record, I do think we match up well with them), but don't point to a 3-game sample size in the regular season as some sort of concrete evidence :lol Especially considering they beat us pretty badly in one of those games too - it's not like we destroyed them in every matchup.

So its ok to argue that we matchup fine with then but we cant use the regular season games (the only games that we have in terms of measuring the core against them). Well how can we argue that the spurs match-up well with them then?

[SpursFan86]

So its ok to argue that we matchup fine with then but we cant use the regular season games (the only games that we have in terms of measuring the core against them). Well how can we argue that the spurs match-up well with them then?

...by looking at each team's rosters, and analyzing potential matchups and strategies of each team?

I just don't think it's ever a good idea to use 3 regular season games as the basis of your argument. I mean if you want to include it as a side note then go for it, but just saying "Oh I'm not worried about GS, look what we did to them last season!" is stupid, and again, hilarious considering many Spurs fans here are typically the ones scoffing at regular season games and dismissing their importance.

[Nathan89]

That moment when Pop puts TP on Curry.:pctoss

[100%duncan]

...by looking at each team's rosters, and analyzing potential matchups and strategies of each team?

I just don't think it's ever a good idea to use 3 regular season games as the basis of your argument. I mean if you want to include it as a side note then go for it, but just saying "Oh I'm not worried about GS, look what we did to them last season!" is stupid, and again, hilarious considering many Spurs fans here are typically the one scoffing at regular season games.

Uh that's literally what it means... :lol

Look at last year's games and you can see how danny and kawhi matches up well with teir perimeter guys. Or how timmy can still have his way against them plus a new threat in aldridge.

[weeks]

we were a miracle ginobili shot away from a 7 game series in 2013. they're exponentially better this year.

[HarlemHeat37]

Much better to play them later, when the Spurs will have roles/chemistry/system figured out, tbh..

Beating up on terrible teams shouldn't fool anybody, this team has a long way to go, offensively:lol..

[100%duncan]

we were a miracle ginobili shot away from a 7 game series in 2013. they're exponentially better this year.

Meanwhile the spurs are weaker than that 2013 team. Right? Right.

[DMC]

Warriors can be beaten if the other team doesn't play like retards. You get up 23 points, you bring in Crawford who never saw a shot he wouldn't take, and you throw the ball all over the court and let Doc's kid play hero for a few minutes.

[Kawhitstorm]

It's actually a good thing, need LMA/D-West to be at their best to do damage against Draymond & pound the Warriors small-ball lineup into submission. Danny also needs to get comfortable getting his shots from isolation/post-up heavy offensive sets. Starting from the rodeo road trip the schedule is going to get tough so hopefully the team will be firing on all cylinders by the All-Star break.

[cjw]

Warriors can be beaten if the other team doesn't play like retards. You get up 23 points, you bring in Crawford who never saw a shot he wouldn't take, and you throw the ball all over the court and let Doc's kid play hero for a few minutes.

This. Crawford and Rivers shot the Ws back into the game. When you're up, take the damn air out of the ball. It shows how little trust they have in Stephenson too. Crawford's D is laughable. They need Redick back badly so Jamal can come in against benches.

Paul was the best player on the court tonight. Curry turned the ball over a ton and Paul was taking it to guys offensively while playing good D. He was playing 5 on 1.5 by the end with Blake wilting too and Deandre not knowing how to finish anything served to him below the rim.

[rasuo214]

we were a miracle ginobili shot away from a 7 game series in 2013. they're exponentially better this year.

Damn, now I want to rewatch that comeback.

[Robz4000]

Funny how Spurs fans are usually the ones saying "lol regular season", i.e. Rockets sweeping us in the regular season the other year and Spurs fans writing it off as a non-issue in a playoff series...and now, a lot of these same people are saying "Look, we've done well against the Warriors in the regular season! They wouldn't do shit against us in the playoffs!"

I mean if you want to argue we match up well with them, that's fine (and for the record, I do think we match up well with them), but don't point to a 3-game sample size in the regular season as some sort of concrete evidence :lol Especially considering they beat us pretty badly in one of those games too - it's not like we destroyed them in every matchup.

FWIW, most of the smarter posters feared them just as much as OKC. While the regular season is just the regular season, you can't ignore something like that. However, when the match up with OKC came to pass the Spurs ended up being the superior team after all.

As for the Dubs, it isn't a three game sample; the Spurs have owned the Dubs in the TD era, including this iteration (though Kerr makes things more dicey). They have a lot of advantages they've had before and new ones they didn't have before.

[will_spurs]

Makes sense... Probably has nothing to do with logistics, travel, arena schedules, etc.

The league is known for trying to:
- have interesting match-ups for the first day of the season
- have interesting match-ups for Christmas
- backload the schedule with games between the likely playoff teams

They have a product to sell and it's their job to create situations from which stories can emerge.

[ceperez]

It is going to go down as to which team is most efficient. Unfortunately, it is very hard to beat the efficiency of a 3 point shot.

Spurs can shut down the paint, however Golden State small ball will require our bigs to defend in the perimeter. A very tough one that the Spurs have an entire regular season to try to figure out.

My take is that if Deldedova can put a number of Curry, then Manu may be able to do the same. Manu at 38 then is key since Spurs will need many perimeter defenders to contain golden state.

[100%duncan]

It is going to go down as to which team is most efficient. Unfortunately, it is very hard to beat the efficiency of a 3 point shot.

Spurs can shut down the paint, however Golden State small ball will require our bigs to defend in the perimeter. A very tough one that the Spurs have an entire regular season to try to figure out.

My take is that if Deldedova can put a number of Curry, then Manu may be able to do the same. Manu at 38 then is key since Spurs will need many perimeter defenders to contain golden state.

Why the fuck would you put Manu on curry when you have Green and Kawhi? You're asking for a death wish.

[NameLess Scrub]

RS games are not meaningless, nor are they then end all of what a PO series outcome will be.

Right now it looks to me like a series could be a long and hard fought one, and the winner will be decided by small details,
like late game execution or HCA.

I love how the Spurs have 2 perimeters defenders that can give the Warriors trouble. Can only hope that's a major factor.

[ceperez]

RS games are not meaningless, nor are they then end all of what a PO series outcome will be.

Right now it looks to me like a series could be a long and hard fought one, and the winner will be decided by small details,
like late game execution or HCA.

I love how the Spurs have 2 perimeters defenders that can give the Warriors trouble. Can only hope that's a major factor.

That is the problem, Spurs have only 2 defenders. Spurs will need Manu, Butler, Anderson and Simmons to step up their game and become elite perimeter defenders. Spurs will win if Warriors take mostly mid range jump shots.

[LarryDavid]

The league is known for trying to:
- have interesting match-ups for the first day of the season
- have interesting match-ups for Christmas
- backload the schedule with games between the likely playoff teams

They have a product to sell and it's their job to create situations from which stories can emerge.

Agreed, but I HIGHLY doubt the league waited to schedule Spurs/Warriors until late in the season just to give the Spurs time to gel.

[weeks]

Meanwhile the spurs are weaker than that 2013 team. Right? Right.
we'll see

[will_spurs]

Agreed, but I HIGHLY doubt the league waited to schedule Spurs/Warriors until late in the season just to give the Spurs time to gel.

Yeah I don't think that enters into the reasoning.

[FromWayDowntown]

Anyone who doesn't think the Warriors are the favorites in the West -- any by a long shot at this point -- is delusional. The Warriors aren't just beating teams. They're destroying them.
More than that, they're tearing credible playoff teams (Rockets, Clippers, Memphis) to shreds at home and on the road. The Spurs, by contrast, have struggled to put away some pretty bad teams (even bad teams playing back-to-backs) in recent outings.

The Spurs are very good and they may be able to beat the Warriors in a series (though if they're to do it, they'll almost certainly have to do it without HCA). Since the Warriors won Game 2 of the 2013 series (the first point at which the matchup started to seem actually competitive), the Spurs have won 9 of 11 between the teams. But at this point, predicting a Spurs series win would be based on little more than faith.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Makes sense... Probably has nothing to do with logistics, travel, arena schedules, etc.

My nighaa LD

[peacemaker885]

Can anybody beat this team? Eddie Johnson mentioned great offense always beats great defense. At this point, I don't think anyone can contain Curry. We have to got to match their firepower.

[ceperez]

Here is the play that they say is unstoppable: http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-cant-figure-out-warriors-small-ball-2015-11

The lineup they have on the court is beating the opposition by 57 points per 48 minutes!

[Spurs9]

The problem with them being obsessed with 70 wins now is if the coaching staff is going to rest players like Curry for games. Is Curry going to go down with a injury if they are obsessed with playing every game to keep the streak alive? I still believe the Spurs are a better team in a series.

[SpursFan86]

The problem with them being obsessed with 70 wins now is if the coaching staff is going to rest players like Curry for games. Is Curry going to go down with a injury if they are obsessed with playing every game to keep the streak alive? I still believe the Spurs are a better team in a series.

Who is saying they're obsessed with 70 wins? The media? I feel like you're just assuming the Warriors are "obsessed" with that because the media keeps talking about the possibility of it.

Anyways, they have a young team and they've done a pretty good job of limiting minutes. Curry is leading the team with 35.6 mpg, Draymond is in 2nd with 33.7 mpg, and Klay/Barnes are both playing 31 mpg. Everyone else on the team is below 30 mpg. It's not like they're running the team into the ground by playing the entire starting lineup 38 mpg.

[FromWayDowntown]

Who is saying they're obsessed with 70 wins? The media? I feel like you're just assuming the Warriors are "obsessed" with that because the media keeps talking about the possibility of it.

Anyways, they have a young team and they've done a pretty good job of limiting minutes. Curry is leading the team with 35.6 mpg, Draymond is in 2nd with 33.7 mpg, and Klay/Barnes are both playing 31 mpg. Everyone else on the team is below 30 mpg. It's not like they're running the team into the ground by playing the entire starting lineup 38 mpg.

I don't think they're obsessed with 70 wins. I think they are determined to have HCA again throughout the playoffs and as long as Cleveland, San Antonio, and a handful of others are close, they'll play to win on pretty much every night. If it takes 70 wins to get there, they'll make a run at it. If they can get HCA with 64 or 65 wins, I don't think they'll kill themselves to get to 70.

And for what it's worth, I suspect that Pop knows he's got to try to put some distance between his team and the rest of the Western pack and is going to be playing to win much more this season than he has in past seasons. While we've generally thought that HCA wasn't that important to the Spurs, 2015 may have convinced Pop that it's a thing worth having for as long as possible, mostly to have the best chance at a favorable early matchup. If there is a spate of injuries, I think that approach might change, but as long as his team is healthy, I think Pop's rest regime will be more about limiting minutes in games than about sitting key players out in bunches for whole games (other than games against teams that are just completely overmatched or are overtly tanking).

Just a hunch.

[look_at_g_shred]

You must admit that the Spurs vs Clippers first game in 2016 has some marketing appeal now and is getting better.
How? Clippers have been embarrassed twice on National TV already. What a laughinstock of a team tbh..

[look_at_g_shred]

Shouldn't be surprised about Clippers blowing the lead last night after they blew a 3-1 series lead over Houston last year. And I think that game last night says more about the clips than it does the Warriors.

[SpursFan86]

Posted this in the other GS topic and figured I'd leave it here as well...interested in hearing others' opinions:


Out of curiosity, what lineup do you think the Spurs would/should go to in order to combat the Warriors' smallball lineup of Curry/Klay/Iggy/Barnes/Green (probably their most effective lineup)?

Parker (or Mills, depending on what shape Parker is in)/Manu/Green/Kawhi/Aldridge is the first one that comes to mind. Could also play Boris instead of Aldridge, but I like the idea of Aldridge having a height advantage against Draymond. Depending on how much he can exploit that matchup, it could force the Warriors to play a more traditional lineup...something that would work to our advantage IMO.

In that scenario, Parker would likely have to be hidden on Barnes. Obviously you'd rather be beaten by Harrison Barnes as opposed to Curry, but I still worry about sticking Parker on him. That also makes playing Mills hard, because Parker is at least 6'3" and has some weight on him (cue the Porker jokes :lol ). Mills guarding Barnes or Iggy would be a complete disaster.

[I. Hustle]

It's hilarious how butt hurt people get over the Dubs. If the Spurs were dominating like that all we would hear is ":depressed Our guys don't have that swagger...:depressed"

Get over it. Winners get to do what they want. I think we match up well and can beat them but it's not like they are cream puffs. Dudes can ball.

[rmt]

Games are April 7 and 10th. GSW will be so far ahead of the field for HCA - they'll rest their players leaving these games meaningless.

[Fireball]

you should stop talking shit about the Clips tbh ...

[FromWayDowntown]

Posted this in the other GS topic and figured I'd leave it here as well...interested in hearing others' opinions:

The answer almost has to be the lineup with Aldridge as the big, but I think that only works if the Spurs can actually push offense to LMA on the block and if he can dominate Green down there to the point that GST either has to bring help or it has to forego that lineup.

The antidote to small ball seems to be a dominating post player on the offensive end who isn't a complete liability on defense against smaller players.

[Mugen]

Spurs are going to need Aldridge to be dominant to win a series against the Dubs. Still early in the season and not yet sure on his ceiling with the team yet... but based on what I've seen so far and what I've seen historically from LMA, I'm not sold on that happening tbh.

[Shastafarian]

Anyone who doesn't think the Warriors are the favorites in the West -- any by a long shot at this point -- is delusional. The Warriors aren't just beating teams. They're destroying them.
More than that, they're tearing credible playoff teams (Rockets, Clippers, Memphis) to shreds at home and on the road. The Spurs, by contrast, have struggled to put away some pretty bad teams (even bad teams playing back-to-backs) in recent outings.

FYI for anyone curious: http://espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS/order/false

It's true the Spurs have had an easy schedule (second easiest) but the Warriors have as well (at #7). Add in the fact they had two close games with the Clippers and it's not like they've been blowing out playoff teams left an right. They've had a similar early run to the Spurs in that they've let some lesser teams stay with them but also blown some out. Not disagreeing with you on the Spurs but to say the Warriors are destroying everyone is not quite the whole picture.

[Robz4000]

Spurs are going to need Aldridge to be dominant to win a series against the Dubs. Still early in the season and not yet sure on his ceiling with the team yet... but based on what I've seen so far and what I've seen historically from LMA, I'm not sold on that happening tbh.

Don't believe in Diaw 2.0? Shame on you.

[Johnny RIngo]

Spurs are going to need Aldridge to be dominant to win a series against the Dubs. Still early in the season and not yet sure on his ceiling with the team yet... but based on what I've seen so far and what I've seen historically from LMA, I'm not sold on that happening tbh.

Doesn't help that LMA is an overall poor playoff performer. He had one great series against the Rockets but that's about it. Kinda funny that some people on this board likened his arrival to Lakers acquiring Shaq. High expectations much? :lol

Spurs will be in trouble if they're depending on Aldridge to be an offensive anchor in the post season. He has a better chance of success in SA as a complimentary piece I think.

[RD2191]

Kawhi, Tim, Manu won't let us lose to the faggy dubs.

[dabom]

Kawhi, Tim, Manu won't let us lose to the faggy dubs.

Shitty Manu vs warriettes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOrIAJKpQKI

Also funny that it wasn't drawn for Manu and props for Kawhi for recognizing the smart play. :lol

[dabom]

JJ on that play. :lmao

[ceperez]

The best lineup would be Manu, Green, Leonard, Diaw, Aldridge. I don't think Spurs can hide an undersized Parker or Mills.

[Horse]

Aldridge may not have a sparkling playoff record but he is atleast one player GS has no answer for.

[ceperez]

Another article on Curry, Igoudala, Thompson, Barnes and Green lineup:

http://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/239916/The-Epitome-Of-Positionless-Basketball

[Killakobe81]

Another article on Curry, Igoudala, Thompson, Barnes and Green lineup:

http://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/239916/The-Epitome-Of-Positionless-Basketball

great article.

[SpursFan86]

The answer almost has to be the lineup with Aldridge as the big, but I think that only works if the Spurs can actually push offense to LMA on the block and if he can dominate Green down there to the point that GST either has to bring help or it has to forego that lineup.

The antidote to small ball seems to be a dominating post player on the offensive end who isn't a complete liability on defense against smaller players.

Yeah that's why I think you have to go with Aldridge over Diaw. I love Diaw, but he just wouldn't be able to exploit the matchup with Draymond like LMA (ideally) could. Also worth noting that a Kawhi/Aldridge duo would likely have a nice rebounding advantage over Barnes/Draymond.

I guess a Manu/Green/Kawhi/Diaw/Aldridge lineup is a possibility...would eliminate the hiding Parker on D issue, and I'm not sure Barnes is great enough off the dribble to really take advantage of having the slower Diaw on him. On the other end, Diaw could definitely exploit Barnes in the post. Kawhi/Diaw/Aldridge frontcourt would have a huge advantage on the boards over Iggy/Barnes/Draymond too.

[siraulo23]

The spurs matchup the best vs the warriors but its a lot tougher than people think here. Duncan moved as well as he could have at his age and tiago splitter was terrific showing on the screens the last time they played the warriors in the playoffs

Now duncan obviously still an amazing defender but not the same a couple of years and now aldridge we all know is a downgrade in terms of defending the pick and roll and is pretty much a guaranteed score for the other team when he is defending a guard. The spurs will probably have to play small a lot but if they ever face in the playoffs this season, its gonna depend on whoevers playing the 4 and 5 to slow the ballhandler and give enough time for kawhi and green to recover when the warriors run their pick and rolls

[gameFACE]

Meanwhile the spurs are weaker than that 2013 team. Right? Right.

Jury's out on 2015-16 Spurs. No one expected the 2013 Spurs to go to the Finals 10 games into the season, myself included. The Dubs are a much better team than the one in the video above and are playing like it. The Spurs are good on paper. If any team can topple the current champs it's the Silver & Black.

[024]

:lol Spurs fans thinking about the Warriors when they still can't beat the Pelicans.

This thread is filling with more and more bumpable material both sides can use.

[TD 21]

Funny how Spurs fans are usually the ones saying "lol regular season", i.e. Rockets sweeping us in the regular season the other year and Spurs fans writing it off as a non-issue in a playoff series...and now, a lot of these same people are saying "Look, we've done well against the Warriors in the regular season! They wouldn't do shit against us in the playoffs!"

I mean if you want to argue we match up well with them, that's fine (and for the record, I do think we match up well with them), but don't point to a 3-game sample size in the regular season as some sort of concrete evidence :lol Especially considering they beat us pretty badly in one of those games too - it's not like we destroyed them in every matchup.

Your username should be WarriorsFan86, since you're their biggest cheerleader/defender this side of Strauss and El Hassan.